Vacancy rate hovers below 1 per cent in Victoria

Rental vacancy rates remain near all-time lows throughout many areas of British Columbia, including the provincial capital.

In Victoria the vacancy rate is less than one per cent for both primary rental units and rented condominiums. This is below the provincial average of 1.3 per cent for October 2017.

Demand continues to rise in B.C. due to employment growth and high levels of migration throughout 2016 and 2017, according to a release from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

“Population growth, especially among the 20-34 and 65+ groups, contributed to stronger demands for rental housing as young adults and seniors have a higher tendency to rent,” stated a portion of their release.

“Furthermore, rising house prices and low inventories of housing stock for sale in major centres, coupled with higher effective mortgage interest rates, have contributed to more households renting longer while they save for a larger down payment, delaying their movement into homeownership.

Victoria also displayed one of the the highest absolute increases in the number of primary rentals added to the market this year with 545 units. Some of these projects are multi-family apartment buildings, which take longer to complete, but will continue to add to the supply through 2019.

Across the board, only six of the 27 urban centres surveyed recorded higher vacancies this year than last.

The average rent for a one-bedroom in 2017 is $1,114 and $1,296 for a two-bedroom unit. In Victoria, rent increased by 7.7 per cent this year with the average one-bedroom rending for $1,169 and average two-bedroom fetching $1,544

Rental condos make up a quarter of the entire rental unit supply in Victoria.